So You Want To Be A Freelance Social Media Manager?

Latasha James is based in Detroit, Michigan, and is an online educator and content creator in the marketing space. She now mainly spends her time helping social media managers to build their businesses and refine their craft.

We asked Latasha what makes a great social media manager, the best and worst things about the role and she shared the advice she’d give to someone starting out as a freelance social media manager.

How did you get into being a social media manager?

I started being a social media manager around 2015, working for a non-profit and then a corporate. I started side hustling and started getting serious with it in 2017. I've been full-time freelance for the past three years.

Now, I'm mainly an educator for other social media managers. I still do some client work to have a pulse on the industry, but it's a much smaller part of what I do.

What does a social media manager do?

The role can really vary. In general, it's to prepare the content calendar for a brand, schedule posts, do community management and engage with the audience.

It's questionable when they become video editors, designers, customer service people, etc. It will depend on what you're good at, what you want to do, the brand's needs, and the team's size.

What makes a great social media manager?

Attention to detail is my number one. Then, be in tune with the digital space - paying attention and keeping up to date with trends, the latest news, and pop culture. It's hard to be unplugged and do your job well. And creativity - take risks, try new things, go for it.

How do you market yourself?

It's a combination of inbound and outbound marketing. Inbound primarily comes from my posting on YouTube. I post high-value videos consistently on that channel. I love it because it's long-form and not as fleeting as other channels.

For outbound, I've used Upwork for years on and off as a backup, I go to networking events, and word of mouth and referrals are also a big part of my pipeline.

What are the best things about being a social media manager?

If you love the space and the internet, you get to be online all the time, which is fun. It's very creative and very social, so if that's your thing, that's great. Whether you work for yourself or are employed, it's also a very remote-friendly role. You can work from anywhere you have a laptop.

What are the worst things?

You have to be connected all the time. It's hard to unplug and hard to get a work-life balance. If you like being online as a form of entertainment, then it's challenging to find where the line is.

How do you keep the love for what you do?

It's essential for any creative person to have passion projects. Things they do just for them. That's how my blog and YouTube channel started for me. It helped me stay in tune with what was going on in digital in a way that felt authentic for me. Maybe your passion project will grow into something that could become a business for you one day.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Be strict with your boundaries and set working hours. I was the first freelancer in my family, so I didn't know people who could advise me on taking calls at night or working on the weekend. When you reply to emails late, you set a precedent, and it becomes an expectation. 

I'd also have raised my rates earlier. Any freelancer I speak to could benefit from this. It's all part of it to go through these experiences, to build up and create your processes, but I wish I'd done them a bit sooner.

What advice would you give to someone starting out as a social media manager?

Just start. This applies to anything.

I hear people say, 'I don't know how to do Facebook Ads', 'I don't know how to use Google Analytics, "I haven't used this scheduling tool'. Just dive, you probably won't break anything, and it's the best way to learn.

Use your accounts or create a passion project as a testing platform for you. I use my personal brand as a guinea pig, so I don't have to use clients' channels to test things. Get in there and then cross-reference and backup with YouTube videos, courses and education.

Find Latasha at latashajames.com.